Trump welcomes ex-rivals back into fold: 5 takeaways from Day 2 of RNC

Former President Trump’s 2024 rivals were welcomed back into the fold on Tuesday, with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis taking the stage amid a broader push for unity during the GOP gathering. 

At the same time, the unity messaging was often undercut by attacks from speakers like Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who lashed out at Democrats. 

Still, the event has mostly gone off without a hitch as Trump’s GOP pitches a more positive message to the country in the wake of his near assassination.

Here are five takeaways from the second day of the convention: 

Republicans work to smooth over divisions 

Despite Trump easily clinching the presidential nomination, divisions still plagued the GOP throughout much of this year’s primaries, with some voters casting protest ballots against the former president. 

But those conflicts have been put aside — at least for now — in the wake of a shooting that nearly took Trump’s life. Speakers have repeatedly emphasized a message of unity, both for the party and for the country as a whole, and Day 2 of the convention notably gave the spotlight to two of Trump’s top rivals, Haley and DeSantis. 

Haley’s appearance in particular represented a remarkable turn of events, as the for...